The Nigerian Mainstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMPDRA) has fixed the price of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) at $1.57MMBtu.
This figure is lower than the prices set for commercial and power players which are $2.92 and $2.42 respectively.
This was disclosed in a statement by the Programme Director/Chief Executive Officer, Presidential Compressed Natural Gas initiative (PCNGi) Michael Oluwagbemi.), on Monday.
According to the statement, the NMPDRA has set CNG for various forms of transportation as a special status and would serve as a subset of gas-to-commercial purposes, which entitles it to the categorisation of Gas Based Industries (GBI).
It further noted that the pricing categorisation of CNG as a GBI would last for five years subject to renewal under the Petroleum Industries Act (PIA) 2021.
The statement further noted that the decision to fix the price of gas for CNG purposes was sequel to a request from the PCNGi, led by Dr. Zaach Adedeji, who asked for aa strategic gas allocation for mobility focused CNG projects in the form of pricing concession.
Over the weekend, the Presidency had announced the first phase of the rollout of CNG vehicles and tricycles across the country before the May 29th when the fuel subsidy removal would clock its one-year anniversary.
President Bola Tinubu, on assumption into office in May 2023, had announced the removal of the decades-old fuel subsidy. To reduce the price of petrol and transport, he initiated plans to move from PMS to CNG-powered transportation across the country as a less costly alternative.